Angelina has added to her collection

[JanH]

one cute Vietnamese boy - aged 3, she has changed his name, he speaks no English but she was able to just take him away anyway, allegedly...

I am not going to judge Angelina's parenting skills or motives as I have no idea what she is like as a mother.

I do think it is odd she changed his name.

But I hope they'll be very happy.

how old is her own baby, shiloh, is it? Did she adopt Zahara last year?

I don't know these facts, but I get an impression that she is building this family very, very fast. Adopted children do need a very careful settling in period...tho i suppose Zahara was pretty young when adopted so perhaps not so much of a problem with that...

I hope she is going careful with the boy's sense of identity...difficult to name change for a 3 yr old at the same time as changing countries....

Baby Shilo must be nearly 12 months now I think. Similar age to baby Suri IIRC.

I do think this all happenned so quickly, and agree changing his name and country will be hugely unsettling for a 3 yr old boy. But, children are resiliant aren't they? What ever stress he suffers by settling in, will be far outweighed by the loving and privelaged lifestyle he has ahead of him.

I think Ang and Brad look like a strong family unit and whenever they are papped there is no nanny present, looks like they are doing it all themselves and loving every minute of it.

Good luck to the Jolie-Pitts I say.

What made me feel uneasy about this adoption when I read about it was the age of the child and how fast she is adding to her family. I have no experience of adoption but I'm sure that a child of three is going to have a much harder time settling in to a new family where he can't even communicate in his own language, than a baby or young toddler. How are they going to find time to give him the special time and attention he will need whilst also caring for their other kids (ages 4,2 and 1 I think). And I think that from the point of view of their existing children it might have been better to adopt a child that was younger than their youngest.
However I hope it all works out for them.

I received an email today from the agency Angleina used for her adoption (a very reputable one I should add) trying to set the record straight.

1 - she was given a referral ie she did not meet the boy before adopting him, she did not choose him, she did not ask to see any others. So she didn't choose the "pretty" one

2 - her adoption took 6 months which is standard for a non-infant boy being adopted from Vietnam into the US.

3 - she was not fast-tracked

Non-infant, non white boys are the hardest to place children for adoption. Does it really matter whether she adopts a child from teh US or a child from anotehr country. All children are deserving of a loving family.

I'm glad this child has been adopted to be loved and cared for in a family. My only reservation is that his name has been changed at three. My daughter is two and her name is a HUGE part of who and what she is - I'll say, 'are you my beautiful girl/cheeky monkey/little imp?" and she's say, very robustly, 'No, I'm a XX (her name)!"
I don't see why you would do that with a three year old.
I think if adopting wasn't so difficult and expensive and long-winded, more people would do it, and that would be a good thing. Hard to balance everyone's rights and needs on this one, but when I read what people go trough to adopt in the UK (from abroad or at home) I am amazed anyone can do it.

I agree Aloha - it would be very rare in teh Uk that I child that old would have their name changed. But much more common in the US for some reason.

She's a freak.

I wish that child luck.

He's going to need it.

I think you've already said that once!